You don’t need to be told to see Vampire Weekend, Nick Cave, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Prince, or Depeche Mode at this year’s South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. You’re a smart music fan — you already know Sign “O” the Times is amazing. And beside, SXSW isn’t about the bold-print names, it’s about hundreds, if not thousands of under-the-radar bands descending on one lovely Texas town to increase their “buzz” and/or get a record contract.
With that in mind, here are 26 very good bands, one for each letter of the alphabet and with an emphasis on rock, soul, and pop (check out the Smoking Section for SXSW hip-hop coverage), who need and deserve your attention more than Green Day. Those guys are doing fine. South by Southwest is about finding the next Green Day.
Band: American Aquarium
Venue: The White Horse/Saxon Pub
Info: Tuesday, March 12 12:00AM -12:40PM/Wednesday, March 13 1:00AM – 1:50AM
Perfect for fans of: sadness and whiskey
Band: Bleached
Venue: Red 7 Patio/Hotel Vegas Patio
Info: Thursday, March 14 10:00PM -10:35PM/Friday, March 15 9:35PM -10:05PM
Perfect for fans of: female siblings playing revved-up Ramones
Band: CHVRCHES
Venue: Red 7 Patio
Info: Wednesday, March 13 12:30AM – 1:10AM
Perfect for fans of: bright blobs of wide-eyed synth-pop
Band: Diarrhea Planet
Venue: Palm Door
Info: Wednesday, March 13 10:20PM -11:05PM
Perfect for fans of: dump punk, which isn’t a genre, but should be. With Diarrhea Planet as its founders.
Band: El Campo
Venue: Creekside at Hilton Garden Inn
Info: Saturday, March 16 9:20PM – 9:55PM
Perfect for fans of: acoustic guitar squeaks
Band: Fredda
Venue: Brass House
Info: Wednesday, March 13 10:00PM – 10:40PM
Perfect for fans of: acoustic blues sing in intoxicating French
Band: Ghost Beach
Venue: Empire Automotive
Info: Friday, March 15 8:45PM – 9:10PM
Perfect for fans of: Vampire Weekend and Animal Collective, without the oxford commas and with the pop melodies
Band: Heliotropes
Venue: Empire Control Room
Info: Saturday, March 16 10:00PM -10:40PM
Perfect for fans of: fuzzed-out guitars and “the lush dreamworld of Twin Peaks”
Band: I am Dive
Venue: Red Eyed Fly
Info: Friday, March 15 1:00AM – 1:45AM
Perfect for fans of: tension, minimalism, pedals
Band: Jonathan Toubin
Venue: Hotel Vegas Patio/The Jr
Info: Friday, March 15 12:30AM – 1:20AM/Sunday, March 17 11:00PM -12:00AM
Perfect for fans of: dance parties, with selections from 1950s and 1960s rock ‘n’ roll obscurities
Band: Khaleel
Venue: VEVO TV Control Room
Info: Thursday, March 14 7:45PM – 8:00PM
Perfect for fans of: beat dropping, rappers with a thick flow
Band: Lemuria
Venue: Mohawk Indoor
Info: Friday, March 15 8:00PM – 8:40PM
Perfect for fans of: sweetness (the vocals) mixed with stabs (the music)
Band: Marnie Stern
Venue: Mohawk Outdoor/Maggie Mae’s Gibson Room/Hotel Vegas Patio
Info: Tuesday, March 12 10:15PM -11:00PM/Thursday, March 14 1:00AM – 1:50AM/Friday, March 15 9:00PM – 9:30PM
Perfect for fans of: Van Halen-esque fingertapping with first-person lyrics ripped from a diary.
Band: Naja Rosa
Venue: Esther’s Follies/Victorian Room at The Driskill
Info: Friday, March 15 1:00AM – 1:50AM/Saturday, March 16 11:00PM -11:40PM
Perfect for fans of: those who wish Amy Winehouse had sounded a little bluesier
Band: Orange Goblin
Venue: Red 7
Info: Friday, March 15 12:30AM – 1:50AM
Perfect for fans of: THE. METAL.
Band: Pompeii
Venue: Blackheart
Info: Saturday, March 16 1:00AM – 1:50AM
Perfect for fans of: ambient rock that builds like an orchestra
Band: Quiet Company
Venue: The Parish/Buffalo Billiards
Info: Tuesday, March 12 1:00AM – 1:50AM/Saturday, March 16 1:00AM – 1:50AM
Perfect for fans of: Death Cab for Cutie covers of Dinosaur, Jr. songs
Band: Ronnie Fauss
Venue: The Velveeta Room/Hyatt Regency Austin
Info: Wednesday, March 13 8:00PM – 8:40PM/Thursday, March 14 6:00PM – 6:45PM
Perfect for fans of: Uncle Tupelo
Band: Savages
Venue: 1100 Warehouse/Club de Ville
Info: Thursday, March 14 10:00PM -10:30PM/Friday, March 15 11:00PM -11:40PM
Perfect for fans of: jagged post-punk
Band: Tara Priya
Venue: Esther’s Follies
Info: Wednesday, March 13 9:00PM – 9:40PM
Perfect for fans of: retro-soul goddesses
Band: Ume
Venue: Maggie Mae’s/Bungalow
Info: Wednesday, March 13 12:00AM -12:40AM /Thursday, March 14 1:00AM – 1:50AM
Perfect for fans of: well-shined shoegaze
Band: Vintage Trouble
Venue: Six Lounge/The Doritos Bold Stage
Info: Thursday, March 14 8:00PM – 8:30PM/Friday, March 15 11:00PM -11:40PM
Perfect for fans of: fiery blues that crackles as it comes through the speakers
Band: White Lung
Venue: Hotel Vegas/Holy Mountain
Info: Saturday, March 16 8:45PM – 9:15PM/Wednesday, March 13 1:20AM – 2:00AM
Perfect for fans of: hardcore punk with pop sensibilities
Band: Xeno & Oaklander
Venue: Elysium
Info: Saturday, March 16 11:00PM -11:40PM
Perfect for fans of: Kraftwerk, the second half of David Bowie’s Low
Band: Youth Lagoon
Venue: Club de Ville
Info: Friday, March 15 12:00AM -12:40AM
Perfect for fans of: anyone who’s ever said, “‘I Am the Walrus’ is too normal for me”
Band: Zak Waters
Venue: Hickory Street
Info: Saturday, March 16 9:00PM – 9:40PM
Perfect for fans of: pop, soul, funk, the phrase “oozing with sexual confidence”
